Friends Will Be Friends
by Tina Chaves1
Summary: Three years after leaving for Paris Rachel comes back. How much could things have changed?
1. Chapter 1

**Friends Will Be Friends**  
by Tina

- - -

This is a repost of a story that I once called my last. I have been too busy and really not in the right mood to "create", so I'll just be posting this one 'cause it's old and I've taken it out of here a _long_ time ago, so chances are a lot of you haven't read it yet. I've even changed the title to throw you off. Plus, I will be changing a few things. Well, probably a lot, specially towards the end, 'cause the original was kinda cheesy! So anyway... I just reread this a while ago and it surprised me a little. I guess this story is simply very important to me. I started it before the show ended and I ended up predicting a few things. But for this repost I'm gonna incorporate things of the actual show and how it ended. So, anyway, here we go. Whatever you need to know the story will tell you. Oh, only one thing you should know: Ross and Rachel did not sleep together before she left for Paris. In consequence to that, he didn't ask her to stay and she so moved there. In the original story she moved to Italy, but alright, let's switch that to Paris. I'll shut up now.

One laaaast thing... It's not _really_ a Ross and Rachel story. Of course there will be a lot of that in here, but it's mostly a _Rachel_ story. So _she_ will be my main point of focus, not her relationship with Ross.

---

It was a typical parisian day for Rachel. After dropping five-years-old Emma at pre-school, she drove to the Louis Vuitton office, where she spent most of her morning working on a presentation and dealing with reports handed by her subordinates earlier that week. In the afternoon she had a meeting with a team of designers and they looked over sketches, photographs and videos - mostly runway footage - for hours, which simply flew by. Rachel sighed contentedly as she gathered around her things, yet again going over how great Paris had been for her over the last three years, in her head.

She was out just in time to pick up her daughter, she would take the rest of her work to finish at home. She parked her car outside and entered. From the doorway she spotted her child, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes like her own, milky white skin and pouty cherry lips that would not shut up. Rachel mused on how her little girl had adjusted well, funnily babbling with her friends in perfect French, one that Rachel knew that she would never nail herself. Well, she supposed it was easier for kids, anyway. Her eyes found her mother's and the little girl darted to her feet.

"Mom!!" She ran to her mother's open arms.

"Hey, sweetie. How was your day?" She kissed the top of her head.

"Great! Madam Coulignon even hung my picture on the board, look!"

She pointed to a colorful set of pictures hung on a board. Though Rachel could not make out which one of them was Emma's, she still beamed proudly at her child.

"Really? Wow, sweetie, that's great! Now, come on, go say goodbye to your friends and get your things so we can go."

"OK!"

She ran to get her things and Rachel watched her, smiling. It was one of those days when her eyes were so wide, so aware of how lucky she was. Her daughter was perfect. She had been her strength, her reason for living since her birth. However, ever since they had moved from New York, Emma had been so much more than that. She was her companion, her best friend. Her everything.

They stopped by their usual take out on the way home and after dinner Emma watched some TV while Rachel finished work. When Emma's bedtime approached, Rachel read her a story and tucked her in. By herself all alone in her beautiful flat at such early hours of the night, she finally welcomed the familiar gloom, the loneliness of single motherhood, of a foreigner immersed in such a different culture.

She cracked up a bottle of fine wine - eh, a little dull by now - and took it to the balcony, a book in her other hand.

She took a seat and opened her book where she had left it off. The picture she was using to hold the page caught her attention, though, as it did every night. It was a picture from the gang, back in '96. They were all at Central Perk, where they were just chilling. Another regular day in the best time of her life. She sighed and stared at it.

Phoebe was holding her guitar and smiling so widely. Rachel tried to remember some of the lyrics to her songs and couldn't help but chuckle out loud. She had even taught Emma some of them, the little girl's favorite had always been _"Smelly cat"_. Last she had heard Phoebe was good, still happily married to Mike and slightly going crazy with her little girls, Rain, who had been conceived right after Rachel moved, and Summer, born only a few months ago. She had had the pleasure of meeting Rain, whose name had been a strong suggestion from Rachel herself, during a visit about a year ago, yet she had only seen pictures of Summer.

Continuing scanning the picture in her hand, Rachel now focused on Joey, on the background slightly distracted by something else. Rachel followed his stare and noticed she was looking at a woman's breast. Again, she failed to hold back a giggle. Oh God, Joey... She hadn't seen him in so long. Well, OK, she saw him a lot, but that was on TV, like everybody else in the world. He'd finally had his big break and was now a regular in a big TV show, which had made Rachel finally surrender to Emma's pleas for cable TV. However, she hadn't seen him in person since she had moved to France. Unfortunately, during all of her visits to the States Joey had been too busy in Los Angeles. As far as she knew, he remained unattached.

Rachel smiled when she noticed Chandler and Monica in the photograph. Back then they were still nothing but good friends, yet he had his arm around her and both were smiling widely. God, how she missed them. Of course she also missed the others, but Monica... She was like a sister to her. She used to run to Monica to tell her everything and now... Well, of course they still spoke and they were still very good friends, but... It just wasn't the same. Rachel sighed and felt comfort in remembering how well they were. Their marriage was steady and strong and their twins Jack and Erica were both healthy and as perfect as she always expected Monica's kids to be.

Her heart finally melted when she saw Ross in the picture. '96... That sure had been a great year. She smiled sweetly and focused on his arms around her and how happy she looked. How happy she was. She closed her eyes and startled up when she felt a pair of big hands covering her eyes.

"Shh, calm down. Guess who?" A man's voice asked.

Rachel quietly squealed, overwhelmed.

"Oh my God!"

The hands disappeared and Rachel opened her eyes. The man revealed himself from behind her.

"Surprise!"

He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. She pulled away quickly, laughing and pushing him away a little.

"Ross!"

"Don't worry, Emma is sleeping like a rock, I just checked on her."

"What are you doing here?"

"Surprising you!"

She smiled so widely she thought her lips would tear up.

"You sure are."

She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, pouring in it all the longing she had been feeling until just a few seconds before.

"You know, I should have never given you my key." She joked, still cupping his face.

"What, and miss my surprise visits? You wouldn't dare."

She kept smiling at him, knowing he was right.

"How long are you gonna be here for?"

She took her foot off the other chair so that he could sit next to her.

"Four days, starting tomorrow. Then I gotta head off to a digging site in Norway."

"Just four days?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

Rachel smiled a little again.

"That's OK, Emma's still gonna love that."

"And you?" He asked with a charming smile on his face.

"Ehhh!" She replied jokingly, as if not making a big deal out of it.

Ross laughed and Rachel kept smiling at him. She couldn't resist his charm. She came closer again and kissed him softly.

"How's the French going?" He asked her softly.

She chuckled and enjoyed the joke opportunity. She leaned closer again and kissed him deeply, sliding her tongue softly into his mouth to play with his. After a few blissful seconds, they broke.

"Hm, you tell me..."

He chuckled.

"I never questioned that one, you know that." They smiled at each other.

"Well, my French is better, I guess. Emma's is still way ahead of mine though... You should listen to hear, it's so cute."

"Oh, it's the genes." He joked, beaming with pride.

"Shut up." She told him with a playful smile.

He chuckled and she kept looking at him for a while, smiling.

"Hey..." She started softly.

"What?"

"Do you realize my contract expires within a month?"

"Oh my God, really?"

She nodded, smiling.

"Wow. I can't say time flew by, but... Oh, wow! I've been waiting for this for a while now, you know..." He said as he put his hand on hers and played with the engagement ring he had given her a few months before. "So you're... you're really coming back, right?"

She smiled

"Of course, sweetie. God, I mean... I really love it here and so does Emma, but... It's just not "home", you know? I just can't wait to go back to New York and see everybody and just take hold of my life there again, you know?"

"I know. I can't wait for that either." He kissed her hand. "I really admire what you did, you know? It takes a lot of guts to do what you did. Specially twice."

She nodded.

"But as it turns out the second time didn't get me half what the first one did."

He nodded, gratefully acknowledging her remark.

"Okay, so, when exactly are you moving back? We gotta make all the arrangements. You're staying with me, right?"

"Oh, Ross, I don't know...!" She said, now getting a little serious.

Ross looked at her, a bit upset.

"Rachel, come on. You're moving back now, there's no need for us to keep this as a secret anymore. We've been doing it for too long now, that's enough. We're engaged already! How much more commited could we be? I assume you wanna invite the others to the wedding."

Rachel kept looking at him in silence.

"OK, I'll stay with you. But could we not tell them about us at least until I get settled down properly?"

He sighed in frustration.

"Rachel-"

"Honey..." She cut him, putting her arms around him. "It's just too much at once. It won't take long, I promise. We've been discrete about this for two years now, what's a few weeks more next to that, huh? It doesn't mean that I don't care, you know that."

He looked at her and her truthful eyes won him over.

"OK, but how about Emma? Can we at least tell her?"

"Oh, no, we can't tell Emma, nuh-uh."

"Why not?"

"'Cause she's a big talker, she'll tell everyone." Rachel said, earning a chuckle from Ross. "I'm telling you! She doesn't lie, but man, the minute she hears something she has to tell everyone about it."

"I wonder who she got that from."

Rachel shot him a look.

"Don't start."

Ross smiled at her and pulled her into another kiss. They took their time in it, enjoying each other's presence, each other's warmth and the fuzzy sensation that soon turned into heat. They broke and kept their faces close to each other's, their eyes closed as the feeling kept going.

"Hm, I've missed you." He whispered.

She smiled and stood up.

"I've missed you too."

She offered him a hand, a suggestive look on her face. She didn't need to say anything else. Ross smiled and took her hand and the bottle of wine.

"French style, nice."

She chuckled.

---

The next morning, Rachel woke up alone in bed. She took a deep breath and stretched out lazily, satisfied. Oh God, she had really needed that previous night. She wrapped a robe around herself quickly and entered the kitchen to find Ross already in there with Emma in his arms. She smiled.

"Good morning." She greeted them with a big smile on her face.

Both Ross and Emma turned to look at Rachel. Ross smiled adoringly at her and Emma grinned toothily.

"Daddy's here, mommy!!"

"Yeah, sweetie, I know."

"He's taking me do to whatever I want today! Can you come too?"

"Oh, is he?" Rachel asked with a childish excitement. Emma nodded quickly and Ross smiled, watching their child's satisfaction. "Well, I don't know if I can, but I'll try, OK? How's that?"

"Mmm'kay...!" Emma's tone turned to a bummed down one, she knew what that meant.

"Hey, you little munchkin, I swear I'll try!" She kissed Emma's cheeks in a playful way, making her giggle. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

_"Oui!"_ The little girl answered.

"OK, so go get ready, I'll be in right after you."

"OK."

Ross put her down and she ran off. Both Ross and Rachel watched her leave.

"She gets more beautiful by the second, doesn't she?" Ross asked, melting down for his little princess.

"She does...!" Rachel agreed.

"Soooo..." he turned to look at Rachel. "Good morning."

He handed her a cup of coffee and kissed her cheek.

"Aw, thanks."

"So, what are you doing today?"

"Same as everyday... In at nine, out at three."

"That's not so bad."

"Ah, they let me finish my work at home because of Emma. Don't get fooled, I'm usually still working till dinner time."

"Oh."

Rachel nodded, smiling.

"You know, Emma doesn't have to go to school today."

"What?"

"It's not always her daddy's around. How bad would it be missing a few days out of pre-school, huh? Besides, you don't have anything planned to do when Emma's there and I'm working, do you?"

"Well, I was planning on picking up hot models and partying at an expensive hotel, but I guess that can wait."

Rachel giggled.

"Well, there you go, then."

"Mama!!" Emma yelled out from her room, with a french accent.

"That's me." Rachel said, as Ross chuckled. "Here." She opened a drawer and picked up a cellphone from inside, handing it to him. "Take this. I got it to leave it with Emma's babysitters when they go out. I'll call you guys later and see where you are so we can all do something together, OK?"

"I'll be waiting."

---

A few weeks later, Rachel entered a somewhat fancy bar by herself. The host approached and she talked to him briefly. He walked her to a table, where a lot of people were drinking, talking and having a good time. They looked up at her.

"Hi, guys."

"Oh, look who's here, it's the leaving girl!" An attractive woman with remarkable cheekbones said with a French accent.

Rachel smiled weakly at them.

"Hello to you too, Sofie."

They pulled up a chair for her and she took a seat.

"Hey, Rach."

"Got everything packed yet?" A man with a british accent asked.

"Pretty much. Most of it has already been shipped, so there was not much left to be packed."

"So there's no backing away now, huh?"

"I guess not."

"Wow, I can't believe we're gonna part ways now, Rachel... It's been three years. Remember how we got here and started together at the same time?"

Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, I do. But it's just... I've loved the past three years, yeah, but... That is my home, you know?"

"Ah, not me. I'm staying, this is home to me, now."

"Oh, it's different for you, Kim... You've married an french guy, you have made a home here."

"So did you get a job there yet?" Sofie asked.

"Oh yeah, when I told them about my decision of going back to New York they offered me a position in the New York office. And I know it's kind of the same and I really wanna do this, but, oh, I'm gonna miss you guys."

"Us too, honey. But you know, our lives are here, Green. After so long away from home I really can't see myself going back. I'm used to this, you know..." The british man said.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not like that you guys. So what we've been away for a while. How much can things have changed?"

"You'll be surprised." Sofie started. "I remember when I was a teenager and my parents sent me off to Australia for a year to lean English... And I'm talking about a lousy year here. When I came back, whoa, it felt like everything had changed!"

Rachel looked at Sofie and shook her head, waving her off.

"Some things never change. And, don't get me wrong, I love you guys and I love this place... but I can't wait to go back."

"How's Emma taking this?"

"She's pretty excited, actually. She'll get to see her daddy everyday and so far that's all she really cares about."

"Do I hear the wedding bells finally approaching?"

Rachel chuckled

"We'll see."

"It's about damn time!"

Rachel laughed.

"And you guys didn't catch half the show!"

Sofie rolled her eyes and raised her glass.

"I'll drink to that!"

Rachel shot her a playful look.

---

Well, OK, this is only the start. Good thing about this story is that I'll probably have new chapters up very regularly, considering they're pretty much done, I just have to work on them a little. Reviews are very much appreciated and, yeah, I hope you guys like it :) Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Friends Will Be Friends**  
by Tina

- - -

The days that preceded the departure went by quickly, in spite of Rachel's increasingly anticipation. There was so much to deal, so many things to consume her time that she was a little surprised when the day arrived. She looked out her balcony one last time. She had a beautiful view. She breathed in the thick european air and closed her eyes. Another chapter in her life was ending.

She turned around and saw Emma watching her with curious eyes. The little girl was wearing nice and comfortable clothes so she could easily sleep through most of the ride. In her left hand hung her favorite toy, a very soft and snuggly pink dinosaur. Rachel smiled at her.

"Have you said goodbye to the apartment yet?"

Emma laughed.

"Mo-mmy, you can't say goodbye to an apartment!" She said through giggles.

"Sure you can!"

Rachel grabbed Emma's hand and led her to each room of the apartment, standing on the doorway of each one of them saying _"goodbye"_. When they stood by the kitchen door, the last one, Emma hugged her mother's legs and sighed. Rachel looked down at her and saw a thoughtful look on her child's face.

"Are you alright, honey bunny?"

The little girl nodded, but still didn't look up. Rachel picked her up with a little difficulty - oy, her little girl was growing up! - and Emma leaned against her.

"I miss daddy." She said very softly.

Rachel smiled.

"That's a good thing we're going to see him in a few hours, then. In fact, you're gonna see so much of him from now on that you're gonna get sick of him!"

Emma giggled.

"Mommy! I could never get sick of daddy."

"I'll make sure to tell him that."

Emma smiled. Rachel kissed her forehead as they stood in the middle of the living room.

"Goodbye, house."

_"Au revoir."_

-

In the airplane, Rachel watched closely as Emma slept peacefully against the window, curled up in a blanket. Rachel stroked her hair and smiled, filled with so much anticipation it almost made her rush into the pilot's cabin to tell them to speed up. Within a few hours she would finally be with the ones she loved the most, forever.

Big cups of coffee at Central Perk and late nights filled with pizzas and laughter with her friends. The perfect sister she had in Monica, Chandler's quick wit. Phoebe's new songs, her floral scent and her gentle naivety mixed up with her strong values. Ross...! That beautiful smile of his, his adoration for their daughter. The way he made her toes curl...

Rachel closed her eyes and leaned back on her chair, in pure bliss. It was all only a few hours away, now.

---

"Emma, don't run, sweetie, stay around!" Rachel called out for her child as they stepped out of the plane, on their way to baggage claim.

"I wanna find daddy!"

A few feet away, Ross caught his daughter's words and smiled.

"Will this one do it?"

Emma turned around and squealed, running towards her father. Rachel smiled.

"Daddy!!"

Ross picked her up.

"How are you, princess?" Ross asked her.

"Good!" She said, amused with a pack of candy she found in his red polo shirt pocket.

Ross kissed her cheek and looked at Rachel. Both smiled, exchanging longing glances. She closed her hands into fists, trying to ease the urge to go and french the hell out of that man.

"Hey." He said, sweetly.

"Hi."

She came closed and, to his surprise, kissed him on the cheek.

"It's a french thing." She said, with a sneaky smile.

He chuckled. She looked around.

"So, where's everyone else?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just me...! Everyone's busy tonight, but they're coming to have lunch with us tomorrow, how's that?"

Rachel remained silent for a few seconds, obviously very disappointed. Oh well, making a big deal about it wouldn't make things any better at the moment, would it?

"Oh, sure, that's fine." She said, though not very convincingly.

Ross looked down and then back at Emma.

"So, how was the flight?"

"Long. I'm hungry, daddy."

"No wonder, you didn't want to eat anything but gum in the plane." Rachel said with a disapproving tone.

"I had a whole pack of gum, daddy!"

"That's nothing to be proud of, Emma." Rachel said.

"Well, I am." Emma said, shrugging.

Ross chuckled.

"OK, let's go get your bags and then we can have a delicious dinner at my place, how does that sound?"

"Yummy!"

Ross chuckled again.

---

They stood outside Ross' apartment for a few seconds, casually chatting while Ross found his key and opened the door.

"Some of your boxes have already arrived. I don't know what you plan on doing with them, but for now I'm putting the ons that weren't labeled as clothes in my storage room downstairs."

"That's fine, thanks." Rachel replied.

It was clear, however, that her mind was anywhere but there. The entire ride from the airport to his apartment she couldn't shake off the fact that her friends had not been there to welcome her off her mind. Sure, it might be considered silly and childish of her, but it's just... Arrrgh.

She sighed.

"Are my toys there, mommy?"

"Probably." She replied airily.

"You OK?" Ross asked her.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired."

" Well, I hope you're not too tired for this..."

"Huh?"

He opened the door to reveal a surprise party for Rachel and Emma. Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Mike were there, along with their kids. Rachel gasped.

"Surprise!" They all yelled about the same time.

Emma was taken a little too much by surprise. She backed away and hugged Ross' legs. Rachel went in and started hugging everyone. Emma was still scared, so Ross picked her up and managed to drag the suitcases inside and close the door behind them. Monica approached them, having just spent about five minutes tearily hugging Rachel.

"Ohh, and who is this cutie? I can't believe it! Look at you all grown up."

"Emma, that's Aunt Monica. Can you remember Aunt Monica?"

"No..." She said in a small voice.

"Really? Don't you remember that time you came over and Aunt Monica took you on that pony ride?"

"No..." She said again, burring her face into her father's chest.

"That's okay. Last time I saw you you were only a toddler. Now look at you, wow."

Rachel turned around and watched them, a big smile on her face.

"Oh, Rachel, Emma's just so beautiful and big!" Monica continued.

"Yeah, I know." She said, proudly.

Ross shook Emma a little in his arms and she giggled. Everyone laughed. Phoebe approached and hugged Rachel from behind again. Rachel stroked her arms and smiled.

"Ohhh, we've missed you! How was Paris?"

"It was good, very good. Still, you know, not nearly as great as here."

"Aw!" Phoebe hugged Rachel tighter. "Were you surprised?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Rachel said with a small gasp, remembering how bummed down she had been just until a few minutes ago.

"You should have seen how disappointed she was when I told her you guys weren't at the airport." Ross said.

Rachel smiled and noticed the kids.

"Aw, and aren't you gonna introduce me to these?"

"Oh, right! You remember Jack and Erica, don't you?"

The two three-years-olds approached, wearing matching outfits. Erica had remarkable big black eyes and really light blonde hair, similar to the tone Rachel remembered the birth mother had. Jack, on the other hand, must have looked more like his father. He had honey colored hair and hazel eyes. Rachel kneeled down, to stay in their level.

"Well, of course! Hi, you guys! Wow, look how beautiful you are!"

Erica held on to the sides of her skirt and bowed quickly, like a real lady.

"Thank you." She said.

"Aw, she's so cute!"

Erica smirked, making Rachel laugh.

"What about you, Jack, aren't you gonna say something to your Aunt Rachel?" Monica asked.

"You wanna hear a joke?"

Rachel laughed and Monica rolled her eyes.

"Hm, yeah, sure."

"Chandler taught him this joke the other day and now it's all he can talk about, he's told it to everyone like five times or so..." Monica whispered. "Just listen and then laugh when you think it might be over."

Rachel stifled another giggle.

"OK."

"OK, so there was a clown, a priest and a judge and..." The little boy started, but soon stopped. "No, it was a clown, a nun and a lawyer and they were in a car and..." Wait, no, it was in a circus and..." He stopped himself again. "Wait, one of them had a puppy. And then..." He stopped himself one more time and looked thoughtful. "_Daaaaad_!"

Jack ran after his father, leaving Rachel with an amused look on her face.

"Okay, my turn, my turn now!" Phoebe said, approaching the girls with a stroller and a little girl by the hand.

Rachel chuckled.

"OK."

"Rain and Summer, say hello to Aunt Rachel."

"Mommy, Summer can't talk!" Rain said, matter of factly. She was very short, but seemed like she had a strong personality, even at such a young age. She had blonde hair and brown eyes, as well as her little sister, who looked like a miniature of her.

"OK, then you do it for her." Phoebe said.

Rain sighed.

"Hello, Aunt Rachel!" She said and then took a step towards the stroller, speaking on a baby voice now. "Hi, Aunt Rachel!"

Rachel laughed again.

"Oh my God, Phoebs...!" Rachel said, melting down. "Hi, Rain, how pretty you are! I bet you don't even remember me, do you?"

Rain shot her a look that said_ 'what do you think?'_. Rachel chuckled.

"Well, OK. And aw..." She turned to the strolled and knelt down next to it, admiring the baby. Wow. She still remembered when Emma was that young, in so many ways it felt like yesterday! She missed that phase...

Emma asked Ross to put her down and she rushed to her mother's side to look at the baby. Rachel smiled at her daughter.

"Look, sweetie." She told Emma and then looked up at Phoebe again. "Honey, they're gorgeous."

"I know." She replied in a very Phoebe way.

---

Later that evening, they all gathered around Ross' living room, drinking some beer or wine and having a good time. Rachel looked around satisfied, obviously very tired but still too eager to be around these people to let herself surrender to sleep like her child had. She looked down at Emma's head rest on her lap and stroked her soft hair.

"So, have you guys heard from Joey lately?" Rachel started.

"He calls every now and then, yeah." Chandler answered.

"Yeah, he calls me sometimes too. I really miss him." Phoebe said.

"Apparently he's becoming a big hit in Hollywood now and not just on TV. He's got two movies coming out this year." Monica said.

"Oh, Ross, reach my purse there, it's right next to you." Rachel asked. He did as he was told. "Open it, there's a magazine inside."

Ross opened her big Louis Vuitton shoulder bag and got a magazine from inside. Showing it to everybody else, they all saw Joey on the cover of the french Vogue.

"Whoa."

"Surprised me too." Rachel said.

Ross flipped through it.

"Can anyone read french?" Ross asked.

Rachel chuckled.

"Thanks..." She said jokingly.

Ross shot her a teasing look, which she only replied with a smile.

"That depends, can you?" Chandler asked.

"No, why?" Ross said.

"'Cause this way I can make stuff up." Chandler said, picking up the magazine from Ross.

Monica took the magazine from Chandler and smacked him with it.

"No, no one's mocking Joey here." She said, before opening the magazine and scanning it. "Wow, look at him wearing make up again!" She looked closer. "He looks a little feminine."

"Hey, you just said there was no mocking!" Chandler complained.

"For _you_!" Monica added.

Rachel chuckled, very happy to be seeing them like that, to be a part of it again.

"It just talks about his career and, well, mostly about the things he's done since he got to L.A., none of all the stuff we've seen before, except for "Days of our lives"...!" She said.

"So you can read French!" Ross said, mocking her again.

Rachel shot him another playful look.

"Uhhh, look at the time." Phoebe said. "Come on, Mike, we gotta go. Busy day tomorrow."

They all started getting up.

"Chandler, we should get going too, the kids got to wake up early tomorrow too and we still need to drive all the way to Westchester."

Rachel laid Emma down on the couch and went to say goodbye to the others by the door.

"Oh, Rach, call me!" Phoebe said. "We'll do something fun, OK? Tomorrow I got this thing I can't get out of, but we can set up something to do on wednesday."

"OK. I only start working in a week or so, so I've got a lot of time to spare here... Please fill it!"

Phoebe laughed, they hugged and said their goodbyes.

"Oh, bye sweetie." Monica said, hugging Rachel.

"Thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, you know that. Let's do something tomorrow. I'm taking the kids to this play group thing, but I'll be back at noon. I'll give you a call when I come back, OK? We can have lunch together at this new great place I've been meaning to go to."

"OK. I'll be waiting!"

They all finished saying their goodbyes and left Ross and Rachel alone with Emma sleeping on the couch. Rachel sighed and smiled widely at Ross.

"You..!! Thanks for doing this." She said in a sweet voice.

"It was Phoebe's idea, actually."

"Don't spoil it."

He laughed.

"OK, I've thought about it _all _by myself. And no one else helped either, I had to go and pick them _all _up and drag them all here!" He exaggerated.

Rachel smiled. She checked on Emma to make sure she was sleeping. She was. She turned back to Ross, approached him quickly and kissed him tenderly, throwing her arms around him. Finally. After a few seconds they broke and looked at each other, smiling.

"Just... thanks."

"You're welcome..!" He said in an adoringly goofy way.

Rachel smiled even more. She quickly turned her gaze the other way and looked out the window. She approached it and kept looking out, a weird look on her face.

"Who are these people?"

Ross came closer and stood behind her.

"Oh, they moved in right after Monica and Chandler moved out. Hamingtons, Hamingways, I don't know..! Something like that."

"Huh...!"

Ross turned around and started cleaning up. Rachel simply stood there, looking out the window with a serious look on her face. After a while, Ross looked back at her.

"You OK?"

"Oh, sure. It's just... weird, that's all." She said, snapping out of it. "Do you need any help there?"

"No, no, you go to bed, get some rest. You must be beat. There are clean towels in the bathroom, you go, take a shower and relax and I'll take care of everything, OK?"

"I'm not gonna argue with that." She said, smiling.

"I don't want you to. I'll take Emma in in a sec, alright?"

"Thanks."

She took one last glance out the window and at him. She smiled weakly and left.

---

Hoping for some more feedback so you guys might tell me if you really do want me to continue posting it or not, what you think about it and everything...! As for my other story, "Until it's gone", well, I haven't been in the mood for coming up with new things. But this story has been great exercise, I've been adding to it more than I thought I would. So my working spirit is waking up and I might come up with a new chapter for the other story soon. However, you know, this time of the year is crazy... So I won't really promise anything! I hope you still like this one and that it makes up somehow! ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Friends Will Be Friends**  
by Tina

- - -

8:00am

The next morning, Rachel was sitting on Ross' leather couch, reading a magazine over a cup of coffee, while Emma was sitting on the floor playing with some toys. Ross entered from his bedroom.

"Well, good morning." He said in a cheery way, a big smile on his face.

Rachel smiled at him.

"Hey, g'morning."

"Morning, daddy!"

He approached their child and kissed the top of her head.

"Did you sleep well, princess?" She simply nodded, too busy playing. Ross then looked at Rachel. "How about you?"

"Really well, thank you." She said with a sneaky smile, remembering how she had visited him in his room late that night and how selfless he had been. He smiled back and she shut her magazine. "Do you have anything planned for today?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go to the park or something like that." He said.

"Oh, I'll have to meet you guys later. Monica's gonna call, we're gonna do something."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Lunch at this place she wants to go and then I thought maybe I'd take her out shopping. I'm dying to check out these new stores I read about."

"Rachel, I'm pretty sure the clothes you've brought won't even fit in your closet!"

"So?"

"Well, I thought that would make a good point." He said with a funny voice, faking confusion.

Rachel shot him a look, smiling.

"Come on, it's gonna be good girl fun. Just like the old times!"

"Ooo-kay. Have you and Emma had breakfast yet?"

"We helped ourselves, thanks." Rachel answered, opening her magazine again.

"Good. Emma!" He started and clapped his hands together, smiling at the little girl. "Go get ready, we're going out."

She lighted up.

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want!"

Emma grinned and ran out to go and get ready. Ross looked after her and, when she was out of sight, bent over slightly to kiss Rachel lightly on the lips. Rachel chuckled and smiled at him. He went into the kitchen and she picked up the phone.

"Hey, Ross, what's Monica's cell number?"

"Speed dial 5."

"Thanks."

She dialed it and kept waiting. After a few mute seconds, a message came up asking her to call again later. She sighed and hung up.

---

8:17pm

The door to Ross' apartment flew open. Emma marched in wearing a crown and holding a big white teddy bear. Ross followed her in.

"But it's not fair, daddy!"

"Of course it is. I'm so much bigger than you!"

Emma giggled.

"Daddy!"

Ross picked her up in a funny way, as the little girl squealed.

"I'll tell you what, we can sit down tomorrow and work on a deal, how's that?"

"Mmm'kay."

"M'kay? Good."

He switched the lights on to reveal Rachel lying down on the couch. She was sleeping, but the commotion in the apartment woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up slowly.

"Mommy?"

"Hey, sweetie."

"Are you OK?"

Emma approached her.

"Yes, mommy was just taking a nap. Mommy's tired."

Ross looked a bit worried, but Emma, on the other hand, gasped and opened a big smile.

"Is it because you had so much fun? 'Cause I had a lot of fun with daddy and I'm tired too!"

Ross smiled at Emma.

"So what do you say you start hopping into the shower so you can go off to bed really quickly, huh sweetie?" Ross offered.

"OK, just hold on." She took a seat next to her mother. "Look what daddy got me!" She handed Rachel her crown and the teddy bear. "Now, the teddy he won for me!"

"Oh really?" Rachel asked in a childish excited way, for Emma's sake. The little girl nodded quickly, happy about it. "It's beautiful!"

"Are you gonna tuck me in tonight, with daddy?"

Rachel smiled weakly at her.

"Of course."

Emma quickly leaned closer and kissed Rachel on the cheek.

"And what do you say to your father?"

_"Merci, papa!"_

She hopped off the couch and rushed to his side. He got down on his knees, allowing her to plant a big kiss on his cheek. She beamed at her parents and rushed off, leaving the crown and the teddy bear with Rachel. She looked down at them for a while, in silence. Ross watched her for a few seconds and then took the seat Emma had just vacated, next to Rachel.

"Did you and Monica go out at all?" He asked.

Rachel looked at him and then quickly away, visibly uncomfortable.

"No."

"Why? Did something come up? You could have come and met Emma and me, we could have done something."

Rachel shook her head, a bit sarcastically, visibly upset, but tried not to show it much. What good would it make? Besides making her upset upset, this whole thing also made her a little embarrassed.

"She didn't call. I just kept waiting, but..." She trailed off.

Ross stayed in silence for a few seconds.

"Maybe something came up."

Rachel looked at him and tried to smile.

"Yeah. Maybe." She stood up. "I'll go and help Emma. Excuse me."

---

11:15am

The next day, Rachel entered Central Perk holding Emma's little hand.

"Ta-dah!" She threw her arms around. "So this is where mommy and daddy used to hang out a lot. What do you think?" Rachel asked, to which Emma answered with an uninterested shrug. "Yes, I can see you're very excited." Rachel joked, folding her arms across her chest.

Emma walked up to the couch. Rachel followed her with her eyes, until she got distracted. She quickly realized that it was not the old orange couch she used to sit on back in the days. Her eyes couldn't move for a few seconds, she was in shock. On the background, Gunther entered, with a waitress following him.

"-but _Mr. Gunther_ it was only for a couple of hours, I-"

Rachel finally snapped out of it and turned around at the sound of his name.

"Lisa, that's not how we do business here and you know it!" He said, interrupting her. Wow, Rachel had never seen him with such firm hand!

"Gunther?"

Gunther froze and very slowly turned his face around to look at her.

"Rachel?!"

"Oh my God!" She approached him and gave him a hug. He was taken by surprise and awkwardly remained stiff as a board. When Rachel released him, he let out this girlish laugh. Hah, there it was, the Gunther she remembered. "How are you?" She asked him.

"I've been good. How about you?"

"Pretty good too. I was living in Paris, you know that. I came back though, for good. Just got here a couple of days ago. And that's Emma over there, you remember her, right?"

"S-sure, sure I do. Hi, ma'am, how are you doing?"

Emma waved and shrugged. Rachel smiled, proudly.

"So, can I get a cup of coffee, _Mr. Gunther_, please?" She said in a funny way.

"Sure!"

He went behind the counter and the waitress he was talking to approached.

"Here, I'll just-"

"No, Lisa, I'll do it." He cut her.

"But you-"

"Ah-tah-tah-tah, that's enough out of you!"

She shot him a weird look and left. Gunther poured Rachel some coffee and she sweetened it. She looked at it eagerly. In all of her past visits she always found herself out of time to come over and grab a cup of coffee, she was always too busy seeing her friends and family and, well, doing some major shopping. She twirled her spoon around and didn't waste any more time before carefully sipping it. Oh dear Lord, what kind of coffee was that?

"So?" Gunther asked.

"Hmmmm!" She faked contentment. After she was able to swallow it down, she cleared her throat. "Now tell me Gunther, what are you doing different with it?"

"Nothing." He answered, confused. "It's the same coffee it's ever been served here."

"Really?!"

He looked puzzled at her reaction, so she faked it again.

"It's yummy!" She sipped it again, this time having greater difficulty keeping it from coming up again. "Now, what happened to the orange couch?"

"Orange couch?"

"Yeah, the one that used to stay there instead of that ugly new one?" She turned to look at it.

"Oh, right. It was just too old, people were constantly complaining about it."

_Too old._

"But what did you to to it?"

"We just threw it out."

"Oh..." She remained silent for a second. "OK." She looked down and sipped her coffee again. This time she turned around and made a face, having just forgotten how bad the coffee tasted for a few seconds. "So, Emma, do you wanna have something? Muffin, bagel, scone, maybe a hot chocolate to drink?"

"Gum!"

"I'm not letting you have gum right now. Now would you like to have a proper snack or do you wanna wait untill lunch?"

"Mmm'kay, I'll have a banana muffin."

"Good girl. Did you get that Gunther?"

"It's on the way."

Rachel cellphone rang and she quickly picked it up.

"Hello?... Hey Phoebs! ... Fine, you? ... I guess so. ... No, nothing planned. ... Emma's with me, is that okay? ... Oh, great, then. ... I'm in Central Perk. ... OK, I'll see you then, bye.

---

3:35pm

On a trendy Manhattan shopping area, Phoebe was pushing the stroller with her sleeping younger child in it. Rain was on a play date with a friend of hers, leaving her mother with a free afternoon to be with Rachel, who walked beside her, carrying a few too many bags. A few steps ahead, Emma was having fun with her skating sneakers which her grandpa Green had just given her earlier that morning when they had met him shortly for breakfast on the Upper East Side, near the hospital where he was now operating.

"Don't worry about it, Rachel, it's nothing personal. Monica's changed a lot lately. She's been pretty busy. And you gotta see it from her side, you know... She's got two kids now, twins nonetheless! This past couple of years have been tough on her."

"I know." Rachel replied, though her voice was very distant.

"Hey, you two are best friends, you're like sisters! I know this is just gonna be a little phase, OK? Adjusting to the way things are now. I mean, when you left, Monica was still living right across the hall from you. Childless. You two got through Emma, didn't you?"

"Well, my daughter was never something that got in the way. Much on the contrary, actually. Monica used to come over a lot to help me out with her."

"OK, so you could do the same then! Go over there, take Emma with you. She can play with her children and you get to hang out with Monica at the same time."

Rachel thought about it. It was a good idea, actually.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that."

"If not, what are you gonna do? Nothing?"

"For now...! Wait for her to call me or whatever."

"Come on Rachel. This isn't the fifth grade and Monica's not someone you've just met! You guys have been best friends ever since you were like what, ten?"

"Eight, actually."

"Man alive!"

"OK, OK, I'll drive up to her house tomorrow." Rachel said, but paused. "It's just that she didn't even call me to explain herself or... whatever. It's like she didn't even care!"

"She's got a lot in mind right now, Rachel. As I said, don't take it personally."

Rachel sighed as they kept walking in silence. After a while, Emma stopped by a toy store and gasped.

"Oh, mommy, look!"

"What?"

"The doll I told you about!"

Rachel made a face, squinting to look at the price.

"A little too expensive, don't you think?"

"You said I could have it for my birthday. That was a while ago...!"

"OK, OK, we had an agreement..."

Emma grinned from ear to ear and rushed into the store. Rachel followed her in, Phoebe trailing behind pushing the stroller.

"Wow, this place is huge."

Rachel looked at Phoebe and smiled.

"Oh, right! You know, one of those big chain stores you're totally against."

Phoebe, who had picked up a toy from the nearest shell to look at it, turned to face Rachel.

"What?" Then she realized what Rachel was talking about; Her rebellious ideas that now seemed so far away. "Oh, that... Don't worry about it, I've changed quite a bit when it comes to that."

Rachel's smile faded.

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty much done with that whole thing. Got family to support now, more important things to worry about, you know? Besides, you guys always criticized me for that, remember?"

"No, we admired you for it! At least I know I did."

Phoebe looked back at Rachel, noticing how upset her friend suddenly got. Well, even more than she already was, anyway.

"Well, things have changed now, Rach. Sure, I'd like to be able to keep doing things the way I was doing before, but... If I want to have some time for my family, I gotta make quick choices. I gotta value time now... Gotta have more free time to be with my girls and my husband, you know? You've always valued these things way more than me, you know its pros and cons."

Rachel stood there, defeated.

"Mommy, I've found it!" Emma yelled, nowhere to be found.

Rachel sighed and turned around, trying to find the right direction from Emma's voice.

---

6:40pm

Back at the apartment, Ross was working on his laptop, on the coffee table. Rachel and Emma entered.

"Oh, hey." He said, smiling.

Emma rushed in, still grinning.

"Look what mommy got me, daddy!!"

"Oh, what is it?" He asked, with the same childish excitement Rachel had pulled off the previous day.

Emma sat down on the floor and opened her bag and the doll package.

"It's the doll I asked her for my birthday!!"

"But your birthday was like 3 months ago."

"We couldn't find it back home, so we had an agreement! I didn't get anything back then so I could have the doll when we found it."

Rachel cleared her throat and Emma looked guilty.

"OK-OK. Mom gave me clothes for my birthday! But no toys!"

"I can see you really-really wanted this doll." Ross half joked.

Emma nodded, all excited. She pulled the doll out of it's case and held it very carefully, with her mouth hung open, admiring it.

"It's even prettier than I pictured it!"

Ross chuckled and looked at Rachel, who, even though was smiling, looked a bit sad.

"You OK there?"

She nodded.

"I was just thinking about renting a car to drive up to Monica's tomorrow."

"Renting a car? Why don't you just take mine?"

Rachel looked at him weirdly.

"You got a car?"

"Yeah, I thought you knew."

"Er, no."

"Yeah, I bought it about two years ago. Since I was going to Monica and Chandler's a lot then, it seemed like a good idea."

"And now you don't, anymore?"

"Not as much." He said, turning back to look at Emma. "It's not a Porsche or anything, but it does the job."

Rachel took a deep breath and took a seat on a chair, watching Emma for many silent seconds, thinking.

"Did you know they threw the orange couch away?"

"What orange couch?" He asked, turning to look at her again.

Rachel felt the nerves building up. How could he not know? Why didn't he care?

"The orange couch from Central Perk." She said, successfully controlling her frustration.

"Oh, that. Yeah, you should have seen it...! I think it was about time. The last time I saw it was this time we went there with Monica and her kids, Joey was here, Phoebe... It didn't survive the kids, I'm telling you." He chuckled. "I'm not gonna get into details, but the air was kinda heavy."

Rachel faked a smile.

---

Merry Christmas everyone :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Friends Will Be Friends**  
by Tina

- - -

The next afternoon, Rachel was driving up to Monica's house in Ross' new car, a nice SUV that, judging by the smell of new, had barely been used. Emma was on the back seat, with the seat belt safely around her and holding her new doll so dearly. The constant motion of the car, however, was making her eyelids fall faster, and every time she blinked it took her a little longer to lift them up again. Her mother looked at her through one of the mirrors and smiled.

She knew her little girl was tired after reconnecting with her older half-brother all morning. She was crazy about Ben and the feeling was mutual. Ross had sometimes taken the now thirteen years old boy with him to Paris to be around his sister, the only sibling he had. Ross had to hand it to his son, he was a much better older brother than he had been to Monica on their younger days. They had spent all morning playing around at Central Park - skating, rollerblading or riding bikes - and Ben had, as always, been very careful and attentive to his little sister.

"Don't fall asleep, sleepy head, we're almost there." Rachel told her.

Emma opened her eyes wide in a funny way.

"I'm not sleepy!"

But a long yawn that quickly followed gave her away. Rachel chuckled and put on a CD. Within a few seconds, a song came up and Rachel sang along with Julie Andrews.

_"Stay awake, don't rest your head, don't lie down upon your bed while the moon drifts in the skies, stay awake, don't close your eyes..."_

Rachel turned around briefly and saw Emma smiling at her.

"OK, it's somewhere around here." She said, turning her attention back to the road, now filled with big suburban homes.

"There mommy, look, it's Aunt Monica!" Emma said with her face pressed up against the window, pointing outside.

Rachel looked out and saw Monica by the side fences of her house. She was chatting with her neighbor, a beautiful red haired woman on her mid forties.

"Oh, you're right, sweetie, there she is."

Rachel parked the car and looked closer, she could see Jack and Erica playing on the back yard with a couple of kids she didn't recognize.

"No, the secret's some lemon drops. Not too much, just enough to make it a little sour." Monica shared the secret to one of her famous recipes to her neighbor.

"Oh, you're just gonna have to give me some cooking lessons one of these days."

"If you teach me how you keep your roses so beautiful, sure, anytime!"

Rachel stepped out of her car and Monica turned to look, meeting her eyes with a growing smile on her face.

"Who's that?" Her neighbor asked.

"An old friend. Excuse me."

Monica approached the car as Rachel helped Emma out with her things.

"Hey, Mon. Decided to make you a little surprise! I spoke to Chandler earlier and he said you'd be home at this time."

"Ohh, it's a great surprise! Hi shortie!"

Monica hugged Emma and kissed the top of her head.

"Hi, Aunt Monica."

"Hey, Rach."

"Hi."

Monica also pulled her into a hug, making Rachel smile even wider. She enjoyed her friend's hospitality, her tender gesture and all the familiarity it involved.

"I'm so glad you're here." Monica began, breaking the hug. "I've just baked some cookies!"

"Uhhh, did you hear that, Emma?" Rachel said, possibly smiling even wider. There she was, the friend she so dearly loved and missed.

Emma smiled brightly and tugged to Rachel's hand.

"Oh, come here, meet Erin, she lives next door." Monica said, approaching the fence, followed by Rachel and Emma. "Erin, this is Rachel, probably my oldest friend in the world."

"It's not like I'm 80 or anything, we just met when we were like 8." Rachel joked as she was shaking hands with Erin.

Erin laughed.

"Hi, how are you?"

Rachel nodded, politely.

"Good."

"Oh, and who's this little cutie?" Erin asked Emma.

"I'm Emma, hi!" The little girl said, beaming.

"Hi, Emma! Nice meeting you!"

"My mom got me this doll yesterday!"

Emma proudly lifted up her doll to show it to Erin.

"Oh, it's so pretty!"

Emma smiled and Rachel chuckled, enjoying this whole suburban deal, after all.

"OK, let's go inside now. Erin, wanna join us, have some freshly baked cookies?"

"Maybe later, thanks." She said, checking her watch. "I gotta go pick up Katie now."

"Well, stop by when you're back."

"I will."

"See ya."

"Bye."

"Bye."

On their way in, Emma turned back and waved goodbye. Erin waved back, smiling.

"Kids, come inside, we've got visit. We're having cookies!" Monica shouted out to the kids.

---

Unexpectedly, it all suddenly turned into an awkward day, for Rachel. There had been many silent moments she just didn't know how to fill, yet they simply didn't feel right the way they were. Many times in their past Rachel had felt absolutely satisfied, comfortable in their quiet moments. She once heard it was the true testament of intimacy. But now they didn't feel so comfortable, anymore. Well, maybe it was time's work. And it would be time that would have to undo it, again.

"Calm down!" She told herself. "It's only been like half an hour..."

In the kitchen, Monica and Rachel were talking, sitting around the table, while Emma was still having some cookies, sitting next to them. Her doll was safely on her lap and Erica was sitting next to her.

"...we just had lunch there and went shopping with the kids."

"Oh, did you guys have fun?"

Rachel paused for a second, upset by the fact that none of this rang any bell on Monica. It was exactly their own little plan for the day before, when Monica failed to call as she had promised.

"Yeah, it was pretty good."

"Good."

"Can I have some more milk?" Emma asked, earning a look from her mom. "_S'il vous plaît!_" Rachel shot her another look, which made Emma smile a little, sneaky. "Please?"

Monica chuckled.

"Oh, sweetie, of course."

Monica got up and poured Emma some more milk.

"Thanks."

Emma greedily took her glass and tilted it way too fast, letting milk run from the sides of her lips and drip down her chin. While Rachel was preoccupied breaking a cookie in two, it only took a side glance at Monica to see the horrified look her friend wore. She followed her gaze and saw the mess her daughter was making, which she couldn't help but receive with a chuckle.

"Emma, go easy there." Rachel got some napkins and took the cup away from her. "Here."

She handed the napkins to her child. Emma cleaned her face, but missed a few spots, which Rachel cleaned herself, along with some of the milk that ran down the table.

"There's no need to rush there, you're just gonna feel sick if you drink like that." Rachel explained.

"But I was thirsty." Emma reasoned.

"I want milk too!!" Erica said.

Monica smiled at her daughter and poured her some milk aswell, in a cute Hello Kitty mug. Erica grabbed it and drank it just like Emma, letting it drip all over herself, but even more. Emma started giggling and so did Erica. Monica looked angry, while Rachel was doing her best to stifle a laughter.

"Erica! Stop that right now!"

Erica put the cup down and started coughing. On the process, she knocked down Emma's cup, still half full, and spilled milk everywhere. Rachel looked up at Monica and couldn't help but feel scared by that look in her eyes.

"Ooops!" Erica said.

"Erica Judith Bing!"

"Sorry, mommy."

Monica breathed heavily.

"Just go to the livingroom. Now." She said in a low tone of voice.

Erica hopped off the chair and left. Rachel looked at Emma.

"Come on. You too, kiddo." She said softly.

"Can I take some cookies with me?"

Rachel noticed the look on Monica's face.

"No, honey. But you can have some more later, OK? Just come back when you want them."

"Mm'kay." She said, a little bummed.

She hopped off the chair and left after her cousin. Rachel watched her and then started helping Monica cleaning up. The silence that followed seemed never ending.

"So... Emma and her French..." Monica started. Rachel looked up, knowing Monica was just making small talk for the sake of it. God, how she dreaded this. "Aren't you scared she's gonna forget it, eventually?"

"Hm, yeah, I don't know... Ross mentioned something about French classes and all, specially when she starts reading and writing..."

"Oh, nice..."

Rachel closed her eyes and held it together. She sucked it up and continued to help.

---

In the living room, Jack was playing with big action figures with Helen and Danny, Erin's children. Helen was four, Danny was five. Erica was sitting on the couch, watching. Emma approached them slowly, holding her doll. She stood there for a while and then took a seat on the couch, next to her cousin. Erica turned around and kept looking at Emma's doll intently. After a while Emma noticed it and pulled it closer to herself, hugging it dearly.

"Can I play with it?" Erica asked.

Emma looked around, trying to figure out a way to get out of it.

"Don't you wanna play with something else? I've brought other toys."

"No, can I play with the doll?"

"Are you sure?" Emma asked again. "'Cause I've brought many others. There's Mr. Rabbit, he's so cool! You can play with him if you want."

"No, I want the doll!"

"But it's new..."

The other kids turned to look at them.

"So? Let her play with it." Helen said.

"Yeah, come on, she's younger than you." Danny said.

"But it's my doll!" Emma defended herself.

"So? Don't be selfish. Didn't your mother teach you how to share?"

Emma kept looking at them, feeling bullied.

"I'm not selfish."

"Then let her play with the doll." Jack said.

Erica looked at Emma with forming tears in her eyes. Emma sighed.

"OK."

Erica broke into a smile. Emma handed her the doll and kept watching as she squealed in delight.

"It's pretty!"

"I know." Emma said in a small voice. "Are you done?"

"No!"

Emma sighed again, sulking down on the couch.

---

Back to the kitchen, everything had already been cleaned up and Monica and Rachel were sitting down again. Not much had been spoken the last few minutes.

"Kids..." Rachel said, nervously.

She smiles at Monica, who gave her a nervous smile back. A long silence followed once again. There was a knock on the kitchen door and Monica went get it. It was Erin.

"Oh, hey, come in."

"I couldn't resist, so on my way over from Katie's friend's house I stopped by a bakery and got you this pie."

"Oh, thank you, Erin! Sit down. Kids, we got pie!"

"Hey again." Erin said, sitting down next to Rachel.

Rachel simply smiled politely, crushed. The kids entered, and Rachel noticed Erica was holding Emma's doll. Emma entered last, looking sad.

"What happened, sweetie?" Rachel asked Emma in a low tone of voice.

"Nothing..." The little girl mumbled, climbing up her mom's lap. Though she was getting too big for it, Rachel let her.

"Oop, okay, come here." She held Emma close and stroked her hair. "Do you want some pie?"

Emma shook her hair, closing her eyes.

"OK, then."

"Oh, is that the apple pie from Nancy's, mom?" Helen asked.

"Yes."

"Cut me a big piece there, Aunt Monica!" Danny asked.

"You got it, sweetie."

Erin and Monica engaged on a conversation and Rachel just watched. Then she looked down at Emma and kissed her forehead.

She had been replaced.

---

Later that day...

In the living room, all the kids but Emma gathered around something, whispering. Rachel, Emma, Monica and Erin came in, with Rach holding her sleepy child's hand and her toy bag.

"Hey everyone, say goodbye to Aunt Rachel and Emma, they're leaving now."

Erica looked up and revealed the tears in her eyes.

"Oh, sweetie, what happened?"

"It was an accident, mom." Jack said in her sister's defense.

"What?"

They all backed away to show Emma's doll lying on the floor. Broken. Emma gasped.

"Oh my God." Rachel couldn't help but let it out. It was just a toy, yes, but she knew just how much it meant to her child.

"It's my doll!!" Emma yelled. She rushed up to it and started crying. Rachel sighed, knowing her physical state was taking over her, making her even more aggravated. "You broke my doll!!" Emma yelled again, pointing at Erica.

"Hey, it was an accident!" Helen said.

"Yeah, calm down." Danny said.

Emma kept looking at them in silence, her tears flowing like Rachel had never seen them flow before. It wasn't just the doll, or just the sleep. Emma looked down and ran over to her mother, hugging her legs.

"I wanna go home." Emma sobbed.

Rachel felt her heart slowly breaking into pieces, watching her child hurting. She picked her up and they just hugged for a long time, while everyone else gathered around the doll, trying to fix it somehow.

"Honey, it was an accident." Rachel whispered back, but it didn't seem to help.

"_Maman, je veux rentrer à la maison. S'il te plait ramène-moi à la maison._" Emma whispered into her mom's ear through sobs.

---

Rachel was driving back, emotionally drained. She turned around to check on Emma and found her sleeping peacefully on the back seat. She sighed and looked ahead. She looked at the radio and turned it on, very low. An old song was ending and soon a smooth voice announced the next: "Friends will be Friends", by Queen.

_Another red letter day  
So the pound has dropped and the children are creating  
The other half ran away  
Taking all the cash and leaving you with the lumber  
Got a pain in the chest  
Doctors on strike what you need is a rest  
It's not easy love but you've got friends you can trust_

_Friends will be friends  
When you're in need of love they give you care and attention  
Friends will be friends  
When you're through with life and all hope is lost  
Hold out your hands 'cause friends will be friends right till the end_

Tears rolled down Rachel's cheek.

---

This will be developed, with time, don't worry. I know it sounds "bad", but remember there are many sides from the same story and this is just Rachel's. And I don't wanna to sound "selfish", but she is only child, sorta. Anyway...! Happy 2007 everybody! May everybody have a great year! Thanks for reading and reviews are very much appreciated! Take care!


	5. Chapter 5

**Friends Will Be Friends**  
by Tina

- - -

Ross was watching TV when Rachel entered, holding a still sleeping Emma. He rose to his feet immediately after noticing her red eyes.

"Jesus, what happened?"

"Can you put Emma down for me, please?" She asked in a weak voice, visibly drained.

"Sure, sure I can. Here." He picked Emma up from her tired arms. "I'll be right back."

Rachel nodded. He left and she slowly took a seat on the couch, rubbing her eyes lazily. Ross came back after only a few seconds.

"Now, tell me, what's wrong?" He asked, sitting down next to her.

Rachel looked up at him and broke down again. She hugged him tenderly and cried onto his shoulder, sobbing loudly.

"Everything."

Ross sighed and stroked her back for a while, just letting her cry.

"Shhh, it's OK, Rach. It's OK." He kissed her hair. "Now tell me, what happened exactly?"

Rachel broke the hug.

"Everything. Everything happened, apparently. Only I didn't know. I wasn't here to see any of it." She sobbed. "The new people across the street, the new couch, the new car, Phoebe's new atitude, Monica...! Did you know Mike's a lawyer again?"

"Hm, yeah, he wasn't making enough from his gigs and then he had a family to support and..." He trails off when he sees the look in Rachel's eyes. That was not the point, at the moment. "OK, sweetie, I know."

Rachel looked down and sighed, as some tears kept rolling down her cheek. Ross brushed some of them away.

"Everything's changed, Ross. First of all, looking out that window-" She pointed at his living room window. "-and watching these strangers..." She trailed off and pointed at it again. "That place was ours, Ross. It was home. But then-" She sobbed. "-but then I though _'OK, forget about the place, focus on the people. They were home too'_. But... I look at them, and as much as they look like the old people I knew, they're strangers to me now. I was looking at Monica today and I wanted to believe that was her, but it wasn't. I couldn't recognise her, at all. It wasn't my Monica." She sobbed harder as her the flow of her tears increased. "I know people change and that's what supposed to happen, but they've changed into complete strangers to me. Period!"

"Oh, Rach-"

"And Emma..." She cut his attempt to comfort her, her voice getting tender, yet even more devastated. "You should have seen the look on her face, Ross. She had a little disagreement with Monica's kids and her neighbor's kids. Who I might add is surely her new best friend." She added that last bit bitterly. "They broke her doll, she cried, got mad, and then they got mad at her...!"

"Oh, no."

"She kept crying and telling me she wanted to go home, and I swear she didn't mean here, she meant home back in France."

Ross sighed and shook his head, compassionate for his little girl's frustration.

"She'll get through this, Rachel. You know kids, this doesn't mean they'll never get along. She'll cope with it. And so will you."

Rachel looked at him for a while.

"I'm not sure I can. Or if I want to."

Ross held his breath.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe I should go back. I thought this was gonna be so easy..." She brushed some tears away. "I don't wanna hurt Emma any more. And I think my friends were right, after so long you just can't come back. Maybe I should just leave again before I ruin the memories I still hold on to. If I can't have that again, then maybe I shouldn't have anything of it at all anymore. Hell, what am I coming back to, Ross? These people don't even seem to care about me now, nor about the past! You should have seen Monica going on and on about how lame we were a few years back, spending our intire days at the coffee house...!"

"Did she say that?"

"Not like that, but that's the message I got." She sighed. "And speaking of the coffee place, I went there the other day and realized their coffee is not even that good, it tasted like dirty water! And you know what? It was never good. We made it good. But now there's nothing left to make any of that worth it."

"It's not like that, Rachel."

"It is, Ross."

"Honey, you were in Europe for three years. You spent three years dining in the best restaurants there were, trying new things, refining your taste. If I were in your shoes I would also think the american coffee is sewage!"

That made Rachel half smile, which encouraged Ross to go on.

"You're just overwhelmed. You've only been back for a few days."

"It's been enough." She threw back at him, softly.

He looked down and so did she. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head, enjoying the moment of silence to think.

"It seems to me like all that we had has been thrown away much like the orange couch. Just like it, it didn't survive time and the kids. If things change, maybe so did all of this." She said.

"Yeah, maybe." He said. "But then again, maybe not. Listen... I know you're not gonna want to listen to me at first, because I was here all along and I got to watch them all as they've changed, so I don't feel it all so heavily like you do." Rachel nodded. "But just hear me out."

"OK." She agreed.

"Maybe they seem to be new people now. And if you ask me, I really think they all are, you're right." He paused and got her hands on his. "But so are you, Rach." He paused for dramatic effect, looking into her eyes as the words sunk. "I'm not gonna ask you to force yourself to accept something that may be definitive. But you could be around for a while and get to know the new people they've become. That life we had is over, yes. But that doesn't mean we can't built up a new one. Before, it was just us. Now there are kids, neighbours, there are new friends,... It comes with the new package. And it comes in the package of any other person you might meet at this point in our lives. So just try with them, as you could also try with other people. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't! We'll move on, we'll hold on to the good memories and we'll seek for new things. But try, please. Who knows, you might fall in love with them, again."

Rachel kept looking at him for a while and placed a hand on his cheek, smiling very weakly.

"You've also changed..." She cupped his face with both hands. "For better, I mean."

He smiled and kissed her right wrist.

"See? Changing can be good. Or it can just... be. Neither for better, nor for worse. People just change sometimes."

Rachel nodded and hugged him tenderly again.

"OK, I'll try."

He sighed, relieved, and she felt the muscles of his back relax under her palms. She then finally realized the position she had just put him in.

"Oh, thank God." He whispered.

She broke the hug quickly and felt her heart growing even more, filled with love for the man before her. He could have put himself first in his arguments to keep her there, resorted to emotional black mail, made her feel guilty about the whole thing. But he hadn't. He had used arguments based on her, and all the things she had said to him. That new side of him, so selfless and devoted to her, impressed her and at the same time made her feel guilty about all the things she had just said. She had just considered leaving him again. They were engaged, she wasn't supposed to be doing that.

The look in his eyes broke her a little.

"Wait, did you just say all of that so I wouldn't leave again?" She joked, mostly to try and make herself feel better in case he smiled. She mentally kicked herself after the words flew out of her mouth, though. They seemed so inappropriate.

"Little bit." He joked back, nonetheless.

She smiled sincerely this time and kissed him softly, filled with appreciation for him. After they broke, she hugged him tenderly, fully enjoying it this time. As a woman is supposed to enjoy her man.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"And, hey, if anything, you can always say you came back for me..." He said sweetly, rubbing her back.

Rachel broke the hug again and looked at him.

"Little bit!" She said just like he had said to her only a few seconds before, making him chuckle. She smiled softly, watching him. "Hey..." She grabbed his hands. "I love you." They held each other's gaze for a while, seriously. "I love you so, so much."

He nodded.

"I know."

"Thank you for being my rock. And I also did come back for you. I didn't mean it like that, you know?" She whispered, praying to God he would get it. She didn't want him to feel insecure about their relationship, yet again. They had been through so much. This time, however, she would have to understand if he did.

"I know." He said.

She smiled, hoping he meant that.

"Come here..."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer, holding on to him as hard and she could as her lips reached for his.

---

The next morning, Rachel woke up alone in Ross' bed. She opened her eyes quickly and blinked a few times before recalling the previous night. She turned around hoping to find Ross still there, but his side was empty. She glanced at the bed side table and found an alarm clock, it was past 10am. Well, OK, someone had to be up for their daughter.

She laid her head back onto the pillow and allowed herself a few more lazy minutes.

Her thoughts quickly drifted to him. She couldn't help but feel bad about the way they had been leading their relationship since they had got back together, a couple of years before. He had always been ready for the next step (and possibly several others that followed), while she insisted on taking things - excruciatingly - slow, on enjoying what they had. She loved him very much, she had never doubted that. Being with any other man had never been an option. But truth be told, she now realized she had never truly let him in. It had always been her and Emma, Ross and Emma, her and Ross. Never the three of them together, as a real family. And that had to change.

He was a part of them, after all. They were a team. She quickly figured she had acted this way because she was scared of breaking up a family. Their family. Being a child of a broken marriage herself, she didn't to put their child through all that and their rocky history had always been an alarming warning to her. But now... In those past two years they had never so much as imagined a break up. Sure, there had been arguments, but nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, they were healthy, they made them stronger.

Now, Rachel was positive.

This was it.

She smiled and made a decision. She got out of bed, grabbed a robe and reached for the door.

As she walked out of the room, she spotted Emma in front of the TV, watching a movie.

"Good morning, sweetie." Rachel said, approaching her to give her a big kiss on the forehead.

Emma looked up at her and then back at the TV.

"Good morning." She said, softly.

Rachel looked down, figuring she was still upset about her doll. Well, she had something that would hopefully make her feel better. But first, she had to talk to Ross.

"Where's your dad?"

"Kitchen."

She walked into the kitchen and spotted him by the oven, making something. She hugged him from behind and kissed his left shoulder.

"Hey." She purred.

"Oh, hi."

She kept hugging him and kissed his neck a couple of times, tenderly.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Well... It was breakfast in bed, for you. Now I guess it's just breakfast."

"Awww! You're so sweet, honey, thank you." She said, turning him around to kiss him oh the lips.

"Rach, I'm not complaining or anything, God knows I'm not." She giggled. "But Emma might walk in."

"Like you care..." She joked, referring to how he had always been up for telling their daughter about their relationship.

"Well, I don't. But you do, so..."

She smiled, yet again being reminded how he often put her wishes before his.

"But, you know, I was thinking and... I think we should tell everyone about us."

Ross lightened up.

"Are you serious?"

She chuckled.

"Yeah... I mean, last night I just..." She trailed off. "I just realized that this is it, you know? This is it."

"Well, I've known it all along..." He said, stroking her hair softly.

"Shut up...! So have I. But last night, it just..." She trailed off. "You know?"

He nodded.

"I guess I do."

They kissed sweetly again.

"So, is there a place where we can catch everyone or...?"

"Sorry, we're gonna have to call them and set up a place to meet." He said.

Rachel made a face.

"I'll call them." He said, acknowledging how difficult this was for her, still.

She smiled.

"Thanks."

They looked at each other, holding hands and smiling.

"Do you wanna go and tell Emma now?"

He smiled wider.

"Oh, yeah. How do you wanna do it?"

"We'll figure it out. Come on."

He turned off the burner and left with her. They found Emma in the same position on the couch, with the same gloomy look in her eyes.

"Emma, honey, mommy and daddy have something to tell you." Rachel said.

Emma looked up at them, uninterested, and didn't even bother asking what it was. Rachel smiled, sitting down next to her. Her little girl had no idea this was one of the moments that she would want to remember for the rest of her life. Rachel motioned for Ross to take a seat next to her. He was smiling so shamelessly. Noticing how silly both her parents looked, Emma finally started getting curious. Rachel nodded, silently asking Ross to start.

"OK, see... Remember how you've always told me I needed to get a girlfriend?" Ross asked.

Rachel smiled at this and Emma nodded, like it was no big deal.

"Well, daddy has a girlfriend now."

Emma made a funny face, skeptical.

"You do?"

"Yes. And you know her."

"I do?" She finally lit up, getting a little excited. "Who is it? Is it that lady from the other day?"

Rachel shot Ross a look.

"You're gonna have to explain that one to me later, Mister."

Ross chuckled.

"No, honey, that's not it. It's someone you really, really love."

"It is Madame Coulignon?" Emma asked, referring to her teacher back in Paris.

"No, I've never even met her, kiddo."

"Maybe you should..." Emma said invitingly, followed by an attempt to wink. "Is it Aunt Phoebe?"

"No, Aunt Phoebe is married."

"Well, it can't be Aunt Monica, she's your sister, ew!"

Ross laughed.

"So is it Aunt Jill?"

"No."

"Aunt Amy?"

"No."

"You know what, this could take a while." Rachel cut in.

Ross smiled at her and she smiled back, taking his hand on hers.

"It's me, honey, I'm your daddy's girlfriend."

Emma gasped. Rachel was surprised the option hadn't even occurred to her. And now, how surprised her daughter was. Maybe a little too good to be true? Maybe she never even dared to think about it, afraid of being let down. It would hurt a lot more. Emma was only five, but she was smart enough. Deception hurt at any age.

"Are you?"

Rachel nodded and Ross kissed her on the cheek.

"I am..."

Emma broke into a smile.

"Wow."

"And you know, sweetie, we're getting married soon too."

Emma squealed, which caused both Ross and Rachel to smile even more.

"Can I be the flower girl?"

"Of course, honey."

Emma hopped off the couch and grinned at them, seasing the moment to do what she did best, grace them with her spontaneous comments.

"This is like a dream!"

Rachel got teary eyed and hugged her daughter.

"So are you happy?"

"Hmhum" Emma said, nodding.

Ross came closer and kissed Emma's hair.

"We love you so much, _Emma Wemma Demma_."

"I love you, _wove_ you, _dove_ you too."

-

A few days later, Ross and Rachel walked into Chuck E Cheese each holding one of Emma's hand. The little girl was grinning widely, still beaming at the family she was now more than ever proud to be a part of. They spotted the long table the rest of the gang had reserved and approached, saying their quick hello's.

"Go sweetie, show Emma what you got her." Monica instructed Erica.

Erica approached Emma, holding a wrapped up present.

"I'm sorry." She said.

Emma looked up at her parents and then slowly accepted the gift.

"Thank you." She unwrapped it and saw a brand new doll, same as the one Erica had broken a few days before. "Oh my God!! Mommy, look, it's the doll!!" She squealed. "Thank you!! And it's OK...!" She told her cousin.

Erica smiled.

"OK, why don't you kids go play, huh?" Monica offered.

Jack and Rain hopped off their chairs.

"They have a cool playground here, Emma." Jack said.

"It's so much fun!!" Rain said.

Emma smiled at them and then at Rachel.

"Keep this." She told her mother, giving her the doll. "Can I go too?"

"Of course, sweetie."

The kids ran off and Ross and Rachel smiled after Emma.

"Kids...!" Ross said.

"Listen, Rachel, I'd just like to apologize for the other day." Monica said.

"What? Mon, there's nothing to apologize for."

"There is. And I really am sorry."

Rachel smiled at Monica.

"Thank you for the doll. Emma really needed that. Not for the doll itself, but for feeling that you guys care about her."

"It was the least we could do."

"So, hey, what's the news you guys have to tell us?" Phoebe asked, impatiently.

Ross and Rachel looked at each other and smiled. They had decided to be clear and simple. He put his arm around her and she leaned up against him.

"Rachel and I are together. And we have been so for about two years now."

Monica and Chandler gasped.

"Yeah, we just haven't told you guys yet, because..." She trailed off when Mike reached inside his pockets and handed out a smiling Phoebe a twenty dollars bill. "What was that?"

"Never doubt the power of Phoebe, my darling." She said.

Monica and Chandler looked at Phoebe, but decided to ignore it.

"You guys are together?"

"And engaged." Rachel added, showing off her ring, which she could now show off proudly everyday.

"It is bigger than mine!" Monica almost screamed, holding Rachel's hand.

"Thanks, dear." Chandler said, sarcastically.

Rachel chuckled.

"It's the same ring I thought Joey had proposed to me with. I remember you said the same thing back then."

"It's grandma's ring." Ross explained.

"Oh, I can't believe you got grandma's ring!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we're still focusing on that." Chandler joked again.

Phoebe and Mike laughed, while Rachel raised her eyebrows to Ross, smiling. Things were going great. Monica looked embarrassed.

"OK, so, you guys are together? That's so great! And all this time I thought there was something wrong with you, Ross!" Monica said. "We were this close to making an intervention of some kind!"

Rachel laughed.

"Gee, thanks."

"She always knows exactly what to say, doesn't she?" Chandler asked, to which Ross nodded.

"For how long have you guys been engaged?"

"Eight months or so."

"Yeah. We've just waited to tell you guys because... well, Rachel was living abroad and... It was just complicated." He said and then turned to Rachel. "But I guess now we can start making the arrengements and all?"

She smiled widely.

"Definitely." She came closer to him and whispered only for him to hear. "I can't wait to marry you."

Ross smiled and kissed her softly.

"Oh, that is just so great!" Monica celebrated again. "You guys are finally getting married, I can't believe it!" She got up and went to hug Rachel. "You're gonna be my sister in law!"

"Hey, hey, don't forget about me!"

Phoebe joined the hug. Rachel couldn't remember being this happy in a long, long time. Over Monica's shoulder she watched the guys congratulating Ross. Their eyes met and she recognized how happy he was for her.

"Man, I wish they served champaign here! This sure deserves a tost." Monica said, pulling Rachel from her thoughts.

"Aw, that's OK, we can always do it with a nice cup of soda." Rachel said.

"For now. But tomorrow we must get together again and do it properly!" Monica offered.

"Uh, I get to be maid of honor!!" Phoebe shouted.

"What?!" Monica asked.

"Well, Rachel was yours, you were mine and now I get to be Rachel's! Oh yay, _finally_!"

"Thanks." Rachel said, sarcastically.

"Oh, OK, so maybe us girls can get together tomorrow for brunch!"

"Hey lady, you've had your turn! This is between Rachel and me!"

While the girls continued arguing, Rachel turned to Ross and smiled. They took their seats again and he wrapped his arm around her. She leaned closer to him and they watched, with satisfied smiles stamped on their faces.

---

Don't be fooled, this is far from being over :) Well, not too far, but still. Anyway, real life has been busy in a good way, so sorry for not updating much. Vacations should be ending soon though, so... OK, see ya next chapter, please review ;)


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